All is not well in the Scottish Tory party. Now four of the six candidates have released a statement calling for the leadership race to be paused until they receive assurances on the contest’s ‘transparency and fairness’. The letter, signed by Murdo Fraser, Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr and Brian Whittle, is addressed to the party’s management board and comes in light of ‘disturbing claims’ about outgoing leader Douglas Ross. Oh dear…
The Telegraph reported this morning that according to senior sources in the party, Ross wanted to ditch the leadership role over a year ago and coronate the current frontrunner Russell Findlay. Ross – who at the time was both an MP and MSP – previously insisted that he wanted to step down as a Member of Parliament at the 2024 general election. Yet party insiders say the Scottish Tory leader approached his consistency’s prospective Conservative candidate, Kathleen Robertson, in July 2023 to ask her to stand aside so he could be selected.

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